Ibex Dunes
DEATH VALLEY
Ok, it’s official. After years of going on and on about how Death Valley is my most favorite place on Earth, I can finally say it: I found my least favorite spot in all of Death Valley. And that’s saying a lot when you’re talking about over three million acres of middle of nowhere. Seriously dislike. I mean, like, a lot. Of all the long ass trails and poorly maintained roads I’ve been down, this one is maximum effort and zero payout. Of all the dune systems within Death Valley, this was the first one that made me go “That?!” Yes, I am a size queen and this was lackluster at best. But there ws certainly more to it and I’m gonna tell you all about it.
Before You Go
Truth time. Yes, everything in Death Valley is in the middle of nowhere and while I’ve been a lot deeper into the park than this, visiting out here is more dangerous, in my opinion, because of it’s relation to the rest of the park. This is as far south as you can get and completely cut off from the rest of the roads north. This is, in fact, an entirely different trip from any other Death Valley trek because of the remoteness of the southern dunes. I went on a Saturday Thanksgiving weekend just across the road from one of the most famous sand dune parks in the world and didn’t see a fucking soul once I left the highway.
Once you get into the park, the road is trash, mixed with a million sharp rocks so make sure you bring tools to change a spare. ALSO, if you’re planning on exploring, there is no path after the Saratoga Springs turn-off. Bring serious hiking shoes and water, no matter the temps. This is an advanced one and not everyone is built for it (including me).
Getting There
Let’s start with location. Off Hwy 127 is the turnoff to Sarasota Springs. But if you’re heading south from Tecopa, you’ll spot on the east side an absolutely massive dune field highlighted by mountain ranges on either side. It’s magnificent in every way. This is Dumont Dunes. If you’re a sand junkie, you already know this. So just across the road and down a few hundred feet is the turnoff for Ibex Dunes in the opposite direction.
Since the flooding last year, this road had been freshly grated and with the mix of gravel and sand, is pretty decent. I was doing 35mph in a one ton truck most of the six miles. Don’t get excited, it’s gets worse, not better.
Six miles in, you’ll come to a Y in the road. Take the right to Sarasota Springs. Google Maps will tell you to park and get out. I don’t know why but that’s clearly horseshit so keep on keeping on. Once you’ve turned down it, it’s not long until you’ll see a small sign saying you’re officially entering Death Valley. According to Maps, you’ve still got three miles left. This is where shit gets fucked up so start paying attention.
I’d say it’s a fair mile straight until you get to the end of the road at the foot of the black hills. You can clearly go left, following the road to Sarasota Springs OR turn right and you’re “allegedly” going towards the dunes.
*Pro-tip: Throw your phone out the fucking window right now because everything thing from this point on needs to be done 100% with your eyes and a dab of common sense.
So I followed the map and here’s what happened: After I turned right (“toward the dunes”), I came to a yellow sign that said in 4.5 miles, the road would terminate in deep sand. Tight! I love a drive up when that’s an option. So I follow along as the road gets nastier and nastier, gutted from the floods and rutted with rock sharp enough to severe a finger. But I push on. I know that #1: the road is going to take me to the fucking sand at some point and #2: there’s no where else to go. This style of thinking goes on for quite a long time til I look out the side window and think “Damn, it sure seems like I’m getting farther away from the dunes.” It’s all good because the map shows the road turns and goes straight toward the dunes. Ok, maybe its coming around.
No, it’s not. Eventually I cleared the dunes and they were behind me at least a fucking mile before I realized wherever this road terminates, it certainly isn’t at Ibex Dunes. I turned around and went back down Satan’s asshole, now paying much closer attention to the turnoff.
With my phone in my left hand, I locked in on the map and snaked my way back. I got to the “alleged” apex of the roads, got out and walked around. Maybe it was washed away by flood? Nope. Maybe I just missed the turn? Negative. MAYBE, it’s a magical invisible road that only fairies can see. MAYBE this was never a fucking road to begin with or hasn’t been in the last 20 years and nobody thought to update anything…anywhere. Yeah, that feels more likely.
I walked up and down the road looking for any sign that there may ever have been anything that one could even call a walking path and about fifty feet into some brush I found this adorable little hand made sign just tall enough for a member of the Lollipop Guild to read. It says:
“WILDERNESS RESTORATION Foot & Horse Traffic Only”
Where I messed up initially was looking for the actual road and not following the lying bullshit map that says there’s a road. Had I paid more attention to where the “alleged” turn-off was, I would have realized the directions were trash and saved myself at least an hour and a half of driving 5mph through rocks and ruts.
Best as I can tell, the 4.5 mile sign is just there as a parlour trick. IF that road ever existed and IF you chose to follow the alleged path, it’s not 4.5 miles so unless there’s some other hidden, super secret dunes farther into the middle of nowhere (and there isn’t), its a red herring.
The Goods
If you’re smarter than me and don’t waste your whole day chasing bullshit signage, you’ll find a spot to pull over just after leaving Sarasota Springs Rd. Put on your big boy hiking shoes and start the one mile trek across the desert floor. The best part isn’t the dunes themselves, although this is a great opportunity for a no footprint photo, unlike a lot of other dune parks. The best part, in my opinion, are the remnants of the Rainbow Talc Mine, still embroiled in a bitter custody battle with the state of California.
The mine was there first, then the park came so you’d think the mine has precedence, but that just isn’t the case. The park’s duty is to preserve and protect, a marked difference in the ideologies of mining. So for the time being, the mine remains closed and all but inaccessible except on foot, so enjoy!
Afterthoughts
Still freshly angry about wasting my day and having to retreat two and a half hours home, I would seriously consider giving Ibex Dunes a second chance under different circumstances. Sometimes first dates are just trash.
Knowing what I know now, I would do this spot over the course of a couple days, not as a day trip. Ideally camping directly across the highway at the Dumont Little Dunes OHV area, I would start out early morning then follow Sarasota Springs Rd to some of the other abandoned mines in the area. On the second day, I would backtrack up the 127 and take Ibex Springs Rd to the remnants of Moorehouse Mine, which are supposed to be pretty cool. There’s a lot of little treasures in the general vicinity that certainly make it a weekend kind of thing.
xoxo, The Bitter Bitch
My least favorite spot in all of Death Valley